Forgive and Forget

Sometimes people hurt us in the worst ways possible. Mostly for girls, this is through mean gossip, words written on the wall, a snide comment, a hurtful text, and so many other things. Often times we sit in our own self-pity, and just hold in anger to the person who hurt us like that.

Just imagine for a second, that your closest friend just decides to turn their back on you. This person hurts you in the WORST ways possible. They go as far as to betray you. Would you forgive them, ever? Probably not.

The thing is, there was this guy. His best friend sold him to people who wanted him dead. Once those people had killed him, the man who sold him felt awful. He had just wronged his close friend. But the funny thing was, he was already forgiven. The guy who was so unjustifiably betrayed, his name was Jesus. Before he died he forgave those who wronged him, and through his death and forgiveness, others were able to get into heaven. Even after hurting God over and over with out sins, we can get into heaven.

If we have such a Merciful Savior, who forgives even those who SELL Him away, why don't we forgive? How come we find it so hard to forgive those who have hurt us in some way?

Trust me, I understand it isn't easy. I KNOW it's not. I have harbored hurt before, and gripped anger. I have stared at a bathroom wall that screamed, "You aren't good enough," and "You are worthless." The worst part, it was directed right. At. Me. In the beginning, I was so full of anger to this vandal. And it's true, I shed too many tears over it. But through some of my very closest friends and mentors I was reminded of that one thing:

Forgiveness. Even if you don't believe in God or Jesus, forgiveness is sooo appealing. It's a chance to start over and erase all mistakes. Every time I mess up (which is often...) I hope that someone will forgive me for hurting them.

Through all of this trial, I have come to not only forgive whoever this is, but forget it. What happened is a thing of the past, and although it's still saved as a memory it is neither a good thing, nor a bad thing.

I wish I could forgive this person to their face, but I do not know who it is. But to anyone who has ever hurt me on purpose,

I forgive you.

With love,

Madeleine